Fairy tail: Somber Soul
by FreezingNoodles
Summary: A burning soul... A never ending cycle... This is the story of the one known as Zane in the adventurous world known as Fairy tail. (Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this novel)
1. Awakening

Sitting on a tree branch was a 4 year old boy with short and ruffled red hair, his amber eyes watched as the other kids were playing with each other. Something he doesn't want to a part of at all.

"Zane! You should join them instead of watching them, you know." A beautiful red haired woman called him from underneath. This was miss Bella, the matron of the orphanage he was staying. She found him in an abandoned house along side the roads to their town.

Seeing that he was ignoring her again, she tried a different approach.

"Sigh, since you don't want to be involved with them why don't you go to old man Bael's shop? I heard he was closing early."

"Yeah, thanks miss Bella." That certainly got a quick reaction from him, she idly thought.

'I wonder what they're doing inside the shop. Whatever it is, Zane really likes him. I just wished that he can help the little one open up more.'

Sprinting towards the only weapon shop in this town, he went to the back door and opened it with a spare key he was given. Inside, he was greeted with the sight of Mr Bael tinkering with some of the armour laying around on the floor. Noticing the new presence in his house, Bael looked up to see Zane.

"Ah! Zane, you came early. Why don't you go and arrange these boxes. After that we'll go through your training then we can have dinner early. How does that sound?" Giving the old man a soft smile, a rare thing from him, Zane proceeded to do just that.

After a few hours of work, it was finally time for some food for the both of them.

Adding some sauce to his meal, Bael inquired his little assistant about his day.

"So Zane, anything new today? Did you make a new friend or see a girl you like?" Rolling his eyes at that last part, Zane replied in a bored tone.

"Not really. You know that I don't like the kids there and miss Bella is busy most of the time. So I just spent my time napping and looking at the clouds." A shake to the head was what he got from the man, he then put his hand under his chin and wisely said.

"You can't just be a hermit all day Zane. You're young and full of life, your future is full of endless possibilities, waiting to be discovered. So, for your sake and mine, try to be more social, ok?" Ending his little lecture with a warm smile, he waited for the kid's response.

Zane kept eating with his head down for a while before answering in a small whisper.

"… But... I want to spend my time here with you... Old man Bael."

Chuckling at the boy's heartfelt words, he stood up and ruffled his hair, making it messier.

"Thank you Zane, for caring about this old man. But my time in life is almost up. While yours is just starting. And who knows, my time could come at anytime."

Zane took a moment to mull over his words before shrugging it off. The two then shared a comfortable silence after that.

'… Your time is coming sooner than you think Zane. And when it does, it will be glorious.'

( 4 years later )

Closing the back door of the shop and locking it, Zane finished his daily routine and started walking back to the orphanage. Over the years, he has definitely grown taller and more muscular. His hair, while still short and ruffled, was even messier and his bangs fell across his fore head, he even has light creases under his eyes.

He climbed up the large tree near the orphanage and made himself comfortable on it. Gazing at the moon, he couldn't help but be mesmerized by it despite seeing countless times. Soon, he fell asleep.

Only to hear a loud explosion at the middle of the town. His eyes fluttered open and he was instantly on guard. Up on the tree, he had a pretty good view of what was going on. The buildings were being burnt to the ground, people were running and screaming while the guards were trying to battle the invaders only to be quickly killed off. It was a disaster. And the raiders were magic wielding cultists.

"Well… shit. This can't be good." Zane muttered, trying to calm himself and form a plan to deal with them.

Seeing a small group of them slipting off to the alleyways, he decided to lock on to them. Running on the branch and jumping off of it, he landed on a nearby roof and started moving towards the enemy.

Standing on top of a house, he observed as the three cultists moved through the alley with a few bricks in hand. He waited for the right opportunity to strike.

'OK, calm down me. You're just going to beat the crap out of three wizards who may or may not kill me in a hit. It'll be a piece of cake... Or I hope so.'

He took a deep breath before jumping off the building. He aimed for one of them and once he got in range, he smashed their heads with a slab of brick in one hand. Knocking one of them out cold and using the same one as a cushion. The other two were visibly shocked at their comrade being taken down by a kid coming down from the sky.

Zane immediately threw the other brick at the one in the back, knocking him to the ground and a bit dazed. The one still standing managed to snaped back to reality and charged at him.

"You little! You will know the might of Zeref's followers!" Using one of his spells, he coated his arms in electricity and threw a right punch. He was surprised when the kid managed to dodged to the side. Not bothered by this, he continued his attacks, thinking that the kid will eventually get hit.

Oh boy, he was wrong when the kid kept on narrowly avoiding him until he messed up. Dropping down to give him a sweep kick, the boy jumped up with his arm cocked back.

"Crimson… Brand!" Widening his eyes at the glowing flames appearing at the kids arm, he was met with a flaming punch to the face, sending him crashing to the ground and cracking it.

"Whoo! That's done." He then sidestepped to the left, avoiding getting stabbed by the guy who was hit with a brick from earlier. He then raised his foot and kicked him in the back, launching him forward and embedding him to the wall.

"Correction. Now I'm actually finished. That was fun, not gonna lie. Now, I understand why old Bael was having so much fun sparring me."

Looting them of any valuable items, he got some jewels, a few spell books and a map of some of the other bases they have.

'… After this, I might go and pay them some visits. Yeah, that sounds about right.' Tying and gagging them up, he hid them in the broken cracks this alley has. He made his way over to Bael's shop while taking more of them out.

Sneaking through the back door, he noticed that it was odly quiet.

'Strange... Old man Bael should be tearing these guys up. But why isn't there any signs of fights here? And where is he anyway?' He soon got his answers when he saw Bael in the living room, just... sitting there.

"Hey old man! What are you doing here? Come on, you and me can kick their asses and defend the town." Zane was really confused when he didn't hear a yes, no, he just heard a chuckle from the man.

"Why would we Zane? Those guys can take care of those pesky towns people."

"The guards can't even take a blow from them- Wait, what did you just say?"

"Like I said, those guys can take care of the towns people while we just sit here and wait for the show to be over. Now, why don't you sit down and we can talk a bit." Zane tried to move forward when he suddenly got stuck in place and forced to sit down on a chair that popped up out of nowhere from behind him.

"… You're one of them, aren't you? Why?" Zane quietly asked, making the old man proudly smiled at his patience.

"Of course, in fact, I'm the one leading this whole operation. I have to say, I'm proud of you Zane. Your intellect and control over your emotions right now. And why? Well, I'll have to tell you of my early days as a wizard. Care to listen to this old man's ramble?" He was satisfied with boy's nod, even if it is a bit hesitant.

"Back then, I was just a young and ambitious man. I always wanted to discover more, gain more and learned more. With my skills and wits, I managed to explored quite a few ruins. One of them was an ancient temple that was used to worship the black wizard, Zeref. Now, I was a bit skeptical going into this, mind you. But all that doubt was gone by the time I reached the end of it." Here, he had a dreamy look, like a kid who is excited about his new toy. Quite frankly, Zane didn't know what to think about it.

"At the end of it, I found a a magical orb that is used to store images of Zeref himself from back then. When I looked into it... Words cannot describe the feeling I was experiencing. The power, the raw power I was able to sense from a single image was suffocating, it has no bounds. And the knowledge, from it, I was able to be enlightened by it, blessed and guided by it. It molded me into who I am today. I can't express how thankful I am for lord Zeref and his greatness. Since then, I joined a group dedicated to worshipping him. I climbed through the ranks and here I am." Pausing for a moment, he set his gaze on him, making him stiffen at the unfamiliar expression on the man's face, like it... wasn't the same person anymore.

"While I was on my path to greatness, I was lucky enough to found a successor for my dreams. A young talented boy and magical reserves higher than anyone I have seen besides lord Zeref. Not only that, you and I shared a deep bond despite not being related to each other. That fits all the criteria for my next in line. So... What is your decision Zane? To join me or not? Together, we can rule the world and bring back our lord's former glory. I hope you pick the right answer." Bringing his hand out, he waited for his young friend's choice.

'No… this can't be happening. This can't be true! Bael… isn't like this!? He's not this type of person... No! I refuse to believe it!' He was cut out of his musing when the front door was open and a cultist walked through. He kneeled before Bael and stated.

"My lord, all of the people here have been captured and the one who resisted were executed on the spot. All of the supplies here have been taken."

"Good, anything noteworthy?" The underling hesitantly nodded.

"Yes... While we were regrouping, there were numerous squads missing. When we looked for them, we found that they were ambushed by a kid and got taken out." He kept on glancing at Zane throughout the report and by the end of it, instead of his lord being angry, he was laughing.

"Haha! Good work Zane. I knew that these cannon fodder couldn't match up to you. Anything else?"

"Uhm… yes, while my group were raiding, we found a red haired woman at the orphanage. Seeing that she's quite the looker, we decided to enjoy ourselves with her. Unfortunately, she killed herself before we could do anything. Besides that, there's nothing else to report, my lord."

"Ah! Yes, miss Bella. Such a shame, she did a good job looking over you Zane. Pity that she couldn't join us, let her sacrifice in the name of Zeref. Now, have you figured it out yet Zane?" Turning around, he was surprised when the kid started burning up.

He was shaking and glowing pink flames were constantly spewing out of him. They were rising higher and the temperature was being raised by the seconds until it went out completely.

"Sigh, I was hoping I didn't need to use this. Well, regardless, it doesn't change much. Now, will you join me?" Holding a hand out, he watched as the puppet sigil he acquired from the same ruin he saw Zeref does its magic. After a few seconds, it went completely inside of him and the boy dropped his head down. Then, Zane took his outstretched hand, making him smiled at him.

But then, the cultist leader started to scream in pain as the same pink flames from before enveloped his arm then his whole body. Nothing was left of him, including his soul. The grunt in the room gave out a terrified shout and tried to escape. He too was caught by the flames and suffered the same fate as his leader.

Eyes devoid of any emotion, Zane stiffly walked out of the house while the beautiful flames started to move along him. They kept on growing and growing, torrents of them were being blasted from his body like a never ending stream. It caught anything in sight, the buildings, the plants and the people in town, burning it all and leaving nothing behind, NOTHING.

Soon, the town was engulfed by a sea of ethereal pink flames. Making it a wonderful sight for any person unknown to the tragedy of this town.


	2. Burnt

After receiving reports of Zeref cultists moving from town to town and raiding them, the rune knights were deployed by the magic council to try and stop them. Unfortunately, they were late most of the time and by the time they got there, the towns were nothing more than a pile of ruins. This time, however, is a bit strange.

"Captain, we're approaching the town." A soldier reported.

"Good! Men, prepare for combat. Right over this hill is Cross…Lead… town." Moving forward to see what the captain was stuttering about, he was equally shocked when the area where the town was supposed to be was nothing more than... an empty plot of land. No buildings, plants nor people. Heck, if it weren't for the road signs from earlier, they would have thought that this was normal and would have continued to move through this. Rechecking the map and his eyes, the captain of the unit couldn't believe this.

"Captain… What happened here? It's like... Some one just moved the whole thing away!" A soldier nervously asked.

"I don't know… I genuinely don't know."

'Who ever did this, they're on a whole new level of power compared to the regular wizards we deal with.'

And it so happens that the culprit responsible for this is casually walking down the road opposite of where they were coming from.

Looking through his inventory, all he has is the loot he got from those three original guys he knocked out. Which consists of roughly 10000 jewels, magic books on Requip, Magic Eyes? And a map of the cultists bases. Looking at the sky, he let out a tired sigh at his current predicament.

"What the fuck is even going on now... Maybe... No, I shouldn't think about that, I already razed it from existence. Literally." He chuckled at his little joke.

"Maybe these books can keep my mind off of things, yeah, that could work. Hmm… Requip eh? This is pretty useful from what I've remembered. Oh yeah! I could just pull out a fish from out of nowhere and hit people with it. That could be fun. And... Magic Eyes? Let's see here, this is… amplifying your eyes with magic. Huh, pretty neat if you could see through illusions and objects from a far distance."

Clapping his hands together, he resolutely decided.

"Right, learn Requip and Special Eyes. Moved to a new town and find a place to stay. Get a job and start training. And… I think that's it. Yosh, let's burn 'em!" Flames then bursted out of him, burning the tree he was close to, completely.

"… Haha! I meant figuratively, not literally. Sigh, that's another thing I need to work on."

Since that incident, his fire power has been increased by a tremendous amount and he can sent them out like crazy. The down side, is that he can't control them at all. He has to at least fire off a big wave of them if he wants to use his flames at all. And he can't even gauge how much damage it does.

'Besides fighting against a bunch of people in an open area, I can't really use them in a closed or a populated place unless I want to erase them from existence. I don't think they will like that.' Finished with his thoughts, he continued his walk to the nearest town, hoping that nothing happens.

( A few hours later )

"I shouldn't have jinxed it." Zane deadpanned with a tired expression.

Hiding behind a tree, he watched as an old tiny man was surrounded by bandits, threatening him to hand over his valuables.

"Come on geezer, hand over that pouch of jewels and anything you have on you and maybe we'll let you pass." One of them said making the others roared in agreement.

'Sigh, these people, so young yet already committing these atrocious acts. Luckily, they found me instead of any other innocent bystanders. Let's show these youngsters why- hmm? There's another person hiding? But... He doesn't have any hostile thoughts towards me. Let's see what he does?'

"You people only know how to take from other people instead of doing good deeds. You should all know that your actions have consequences." He said as he released the incredible pressure from his magic reserves, making them terrified and some to drop to their knees. He then enlarged his hands and backhanded them into a tree, pilling their bodies into a comical hill.

"You can come out now. I know you're there." His doubts were right when someone came out from behind the trees. What he didn't expect was a child appearing from there. And that child is extremely nervous of him if the stiff posture and strained smile he had was anything to go by.

"Now now child, you have nothing to fear."

'I have every right to be scared!'

"Wow, that was some serious power there old man. I almost feel sorry for the fools back there."

Chuckling at his attempt to stay calm and redirect the conversation, he played along.

"Why, thank you for your compliment. Not a lot of people has manners these days, like the group you saw back then. Oh, how can I forget, my name is Makarov Dreyar. I'm currently making my way to the town up ahead. How about you, kid?" Seeing that the old man hasn't done anything wrong, he continued to talk with him.

"Uhm, I'm Zane. And I'm probably going to the same place too."

"Haha, if that's the case, why don't you travel with me? It'll be safer that way."

"… Okay, that sounds great." Zane hesitantly nodded.

Walking with Zane, Makarov couldn't help but feel like the kid is too... cautious for someone of his age. Keeping a distance from behind him and constantly observing him for any sudden movements while his whole body is tensed, ready to bolt at anytime. This just makes the old man feel sad for the boy, the things he had gone through to develop those instincts. He then turned to a topic he has been wanting to asked and to make him a bit more relaxed.

"Zane, you're a wizard right?" While there were no noticeable reaction on his face, he could definitely see his right hand slowly twitched towards his back pocket.

"Hmm? Yeah, how did you know that?"

"Well, your magic is practically spilling out of your body, kid. And the amount is incredibly high for someone of your age. I'm sure you'll become a powerful wizard if you want to."

"… Yeah. And you're a powerful one right? I didn't expect for someone like you to be this strong and not be in a guild already."

"Who said I wasn't in a guild? In fact, I'm the master of one. I'm sure you've heard of it already, it's Fairy Tail!" Striking a pose to demonstrate how proud he was of the guild, Makarov awaited for the shock and awe reaction from the kid.

"Huh? Never heard of it. And besides, what kind of name is Fairy Tail? Kinda childish if you asked me."

After recovering from the fatal attack to his pride, the guild master was determined to show this kid how great Fairy Tail is.

"Hmmp! Boy, let me ask you a question, do Fairies have tails? Do they really exist? Like them, this guild is an eternal mystery, a never ending adventure! In this guild, every one is family regardless of our origins. Do you understand what this guild really means yet Zane?"

'Family... huh. I'm sure miss Bella would have like me to consider her as one.' He was cut out of his musing when Makarov placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Zane… are you alright?" Not noticing what was wrong, he subconsciously touch his face, only to realize.

He was crying.

"I'm- I'm fine. Just... Some bad memories popping up, that's all. Thanks for the concern, old man." After, confirming that the young child is okay for now, the two continued to walk in silence before they reached the town.

"Well, I'm off to the train station. How about you Zane?"

Taking the time to carefully think about his choices while Makarov patiently waited, he finally decided.

"… Can, can I join the guild? I don't really have anywhere to go." Zane was relieved when he gave him a warm smile and replied.

"Of course child, the guild is open for any lost soul like you. Now, hop on the train and we'll get going."

Following his soon to be guild master, Zane prepared himself to embrace this new found opportunity at a new life and hopefully, a family.


	3. Laxus

"Here we are! Ready to go and meet your new guildmates, Zane?"

Standing before the large building itself, Zane couldn't help but feel a bit nervous about for what's to come.

'It's bigger than I expected.'

"Right, welcome to... Fairy Tail!" Stepping inside, Zane was... more than surprised at the scene. People were fighting, tables were being smashed and drinks were flying through the air. It was total chaos.

'This is certainly more… rowdier than what I expected.'

He had to step to the side to avoid the table that was thrown at the door. But that wasn't really necessary since a large hand came up to block the hit.

"What are you fools doing?! You're all acting like buffoons in front of your new guildmate."

Miraculously, they all stopped at once and started apologizing.

"Hehe, you're back master!"

"Yeah, sorry about that, master."

"Wait, new member? Some one joined us master?" A blue haired man asked.

"Yeah, we getting a new one already?" The man with weird pompadour continued, making the rest of the guild nodded in agreement.

"This is Zane. He might be young but I expect all of you to treat him like one of your own."

Being stared at by a crowd of adults, wizards nonetheless, was more nerve-wracking than he originally thought. Regardless, he still step forward and introduced himself to his new fellow guild members.

"Hello everyone, my name is Zane. I hope we can get along." Ending the statement with a bow, hoping for a positive response, he was not disappointed when they started to cheered for him.

"AH yeah! We got a new member."

"Welcome to the guild kid! The name's Macao Conbolt and fire wizard. If you need help with anything you can count on me." The blue haired man, now known as Macao, confidently said while the guy with the weird hair nodded along.

"That's right kid, if you need help just ask any of us. I'm Wakaba Mine and nice to have you."

Overwhelmed, that's what he's feeling right now. Seeing so many strangers suddenly being so nice to him and for them to considered him to be one of them without any doubt is truly odd to him.

"Thank you for being so welcoming of me. I'll do my best to contribute to the guild." Deciding to repay their kindness with his own, he was rewarded with the guild's praises of him being so polite.

'Weird.' He thought.

"Hey Gramps! Who's the new guy?" The excited voice belonged to a spiky blond haired kid younger than him. Makarov chuckled then ruffled the kid's hair, making him squirm in place.

"Haha, it's your new guildmate, Laxus. Why don't you go and say hi to him?"

Laxus nodded then walked up to him with a hand raised.

"Hi! My name's Laxus Dreyar. Welcome to Fairy Tail, the best guild ever!"

Raising his eyebrow at the bold claim, he still accepted the handshake and replied.

"Hi, I'm Zane. Hope we can get along."

"Get along? We'll be the best of friends! Everyone is family here in Fairy Tail, right Gramps?"

"That's right Laxus!" He couldn't help but chuckle at the kid's enthusiasm.

"Yeah. Let's become friends."

( 7 years later )

"Thud!" The sound echoed through the empty grounds of the forest as the 13 year old Laxus's body hit the ground yet he didn't react to it. No, he was busy glaring at his best friend, Zane.

The both of them have changed a lot in appearance since they first met. Laxus being taller and sporting a new lightning bolt shaped scar on his right eye along with his new earphones. While Zane is also taller and muscular, his red hair is kept short, ruffled, and spiked, with two strands of hair near the opposite sides of his head falling over his face, as well as distinct sideburns.

Now, the two so called best friends are glaring each other with Zane looking down at Laxus. The silence was broken when Zane started.

"Not getting enough credit? Just cause he's Makarov's grandson? Cut the crap Laxus." He gritted out each word, desperate to stay calm in the face of his friend's stupidity. He got a scoffed in return.

"What? It's not like I'm wrong about-" He didn't get to finish that sentence before he was socked in the face and pulled by the collar of his shirt, his eyes meeting Zane's narrowed gaze. The two continued their staring contest from before, until a idea came to Zane's mind.

"You know what? Fine, we'll do it this way." Roughly pulling Laxus up to his feet and stepping back a few feet.

The blond was confused at his actions until he saw him taking a battle stance.

"Be on your guard Laxus or I'll beat you until Gramps can't even recognize you." He wanted to retort that they're not fighting until he had to hastily raised his arms up to block the incoming blow. If he wants to fight then fine! He'll fight.

Breathing heavily, Zane had to sit down to rest his exhausted body. Looking at the forest or what's left of it, he can clearly see the aftermath of their fight. Burnt trees, crushed boulders and cracked holes in the ground with some pink fire and yellow lightning still there, one would think that this was the battle between two powerful monsters instead of two teens.

Aside from some scratches and being really tired, he didn't suffer much from the fight. But the same couldn't be said for Laxus. With his magic and stamina depleted, a few nasty bruises and a broken bone, he is in another world of pain. Laying down on the ground defeated, he finally asked the question on his mind.

"So... What was that for?"

A tick mark formed on his forehead while he tsk'ed at his oblivious, he patiently said.

"Look around you. Look at that boulder you just crushed and the landscape you destroyed. Do you see it yet?"

Furrowing his eyebrows, Laxus thought hard about what he said but came up empty. Zane finally snapped.

"Idiot! You were able to do those things because of your strength right? Now, does that have anything to do with Makarov?" Slowly realizing what he was trying to say, he slowly nodded.

"Yeah... It didn't have anything to do with him." Seeing that his words are getting through, he pressed forward.

"Now, the fact that you were able to dish out magic more powerful than the adults in the guild and you were capable of holding your own against me, one of the most powerful members, have anything to do with Gramps? No! You were able to do it because of your strength and that strength was gained through YOUR OWN EFFORTS, not Makarov, not anyone else."

Once he was reminded of how strong he is now and it was because he trained hard and his own resolve, he shamefully looked away from his friend's gaze, not willing to admit that it took a beating for him to realize it.

'This guy...' Walking over to him, he said.

"You know, when we were beating the crap out of each other, I saw that it was a battle between Zane and Laxus, two friends trying their hardest. Nothing more and nothing less. I hope you saw it that way too."

Pausing for a brief moment, he was rewarded with a small thank you.

"Eh? What was that? Sorry, couldn't really hear you there."

"Tch! I said… thank you, you ass." Satisfied with the response, he let out a small smile before quickly saying.

"You're welcome! And if you need a beating next time just call me, I'll gladly do it. I promise." Snorting at his little joke, he also gave out an offer.

"Oh, I'm so lucky to have this opportunity. Hey, how about I do the same to you, I'll beat you up when you need it, OK? I'll also throw in some bonuses as well, like a lightning spear up your ass." Making him laughed at the quip before he too joined in. The both of them enjoyed the moment until they calmed down a bit.

"Now that's out of the way, I want to talk about your father, Laxus." The shift in Zane's tone didn't go unnoticed by him.

"Yeah what about him?" He replied evasively, making the older teen sighed at his stubbornness.

"I know that you suddenly got angry with Gramps cause he expelled Ivan. And he probably had a good reason to do so."

"But... But he's his own son! How could he do that?!" Laxus angrily retorted and getting a painful bonked to the head because of that.

"Ow! You didn't have to do that."

"Of course I had to, since this skull of yours is too goddamned thick. Take a moment to think about why he did it. Ivan got kicked out for touching things he shouldn't touch. He has been snooping around the guild's library for information on the guild itself. About what? I don't know but it should be forbidden to know except for the guild master themselves."

Stopping to let him digest the information, he continued.

"And besides, he's not that good of a person and not a good father from what I've seen." Holding a hand out to silenced the incoming arguments, he solemnly said.

"Laxus, he has been dealing with illegal people, including dark wizards. I'm sure you understand how severe that is right? As for how I know that? That lacrima on your forehead is what he bought from them and I managed to hear him talk to some of them through his lacrima when his guard was down."

"Not only that, he hurt you, Laxus. He physically abused you, his own child. Before you say it was training, let me tell you, there are countless other ways to train your child and choking them by the throat then saying he wasn't good enough is downright wrong."

"… You were spying on us?"

"I didn't want to do it but someone had to look out for you. You're my best friend Laxus, I'll do things like this a thousand times if it means keeping my friend safe."

After those heartfelt words, he waited for his response.

Processing the information he was given and looking back at it, Laxus couldn't find anything wrong with his logic and he also realized that his father didn't really care about him. Unable to hold back his emotions, he covered his eyes with his arm while tears ran down his face. Seeing his emotionally distraught friend, he crouched down to his level and then ruffled his hair.

"Sigh, Laxus, look at me, what am I to you?"

"Hic… You're my best friend."

"Yup! And what is Makarov to you?"

"My… hic… gramps."

"And finally, what is the guild to you?"

"My... Family." Giving him a smirk and the Fairy Tail signature hand sign, he continued.

"See? You haven't lost everything. You still have us. "

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"What do you mean you guess? I'm always right." Making him laughed at the sarcasm and for him to grunt in pain at the motion itself.

"Yeah... Could you give me some help here? You didn't really hold back were you?" Giving him a victorious smirk and throwing an arm around his shoulder, the two made their way back to the guild while trading quips with each other.

Needless to say, Gramps was not happy with the state they were in.

"You fools! Next time you two fight, at least try to hold back! You'll go and kill each other one day."

He was even more pissed when they just laughed even harder.


	4. A new chance

( The next day )

"You want to go where!?" Blinking, Makarov asked the teen for a second time, making him rolled his eyes at the dramatic his master always has.

"You already heard me Gramps. I'm going there to train."

"But why go there? Why Isvan? It's full of snow and it's a long way from here. Not to mention, who knows what kind of danger you would find in an open place like that." While he appreciates the concern from the old man but he is quite confident in his ability as a wizard and that sentence was pushing it.

"Don't worry Gramps. I'm going to train since the cold will help my fire build more resistance to it and I'll get to go all out without hurting anyone. It's a win-win. Besides, unless something as strong as Gildarts pops up, I don't think I'll have to worry about my safety." Ending his argument, he put his hands in his pockets and waited for the Master's answer.

The boy has a point, Makarov thought. Throughout the years, Zane has grown at an extremely fast rate in terms of magical power and combat prowess. And with him being the third strongest person in the guild, only weaker than himself and Gildarts, it just proves his growth as a wizard. The training idea he came up with is also very reasonable and beneficial to him. Honestly, unless something unexpected happens, this trip will be just like a normal job. Despite that, Makarov couldn't help but feel a nagging feeling that something bad is going to happen.

'But… No, I shouldn't be thinking like this. He's not a kid anymore. He's a proud Fairy Tail wizard and he can take care of himself.' Finishing his thoughts, he finally decided.

"Fine, you can go Zane. But! Be careful and be on the lookout for anything weird."

"Yeah, yeah. I heard ya." Walking to the door, he was surprised when he got called again.

"Zane." Looking over his shoulder, he questioned.

"Yeah, Gramps?" In a grateful tone, Makarov spoke.

"Thank you. For helping Laxus." Slightly surprised at the old man's words, he continued to walk to the door until he was at it and stopped.

"I don't what you're thanking for. I just did what I needed to." before he resumed his walk.

Chuckling at the his simple words, Fairy Tail's master then jokingly said.

"Oh! And don't break people's bones again. It is starting to give you a bad image!" A manical laughter followed his statement.

"Hehe! I'll try Master."

Stepping out of the train and on to the cold pavement, Zane took in the scenery and felt the cold winds already blowing against his face. Though, he did also notice the strange stares people were giving him.

'Ah, my clothes. Right.' His clothing, consisting of a simple black V-neck along with dark blue, denim jeans held up by a simple brown belt, with a silver chain attached from the belt to his back pocket, additionally with black shoes to top off the rest of his outfit, was an odd sight to the people surrounding considering the cold weather and the thick amount of clothes they were wearing.

Ignoring them, he continued his journey to the open area out of town and into the unknown icy landscape.

( A few hours later )

"Now, where the hell am I?" was the question Zane has been asking himself for the last hour in this snow covered forest.

Perhaps thinking about other matters while walking should be something he should stop doing since it has led him to some odd and down right weird places before, namely a demon summoning ritual by some insane guy who was rambling about tentacles, and the current situation he found himself in is one of them.

Numerous trees covered his sight, hiding the inhabitants of the forest as well as annoying him. He contemplated whether or not to just burn it down before an idea came to mind.

'Soul Gaze.'

Soul Gaze, an ability depraved from the spell Mage Eyes, the spell was originally used to see the magic flow of a person through their eyes. But, when he tried it out, let's just say that the results were interesting to say the least.

( Mini flash back )

"Come on! Try it on me!" An excited Laxus shouted, making Zane sighed at the over enthusiastic kid.

"Ok, ok. Stand still and I'll try it."

Focusing and repeating the steps from the book, he expected to get the same visual result that was mentioned in it. Instead, when he opened his eyes, all he got was a... yellow blob?

Blinking twice, he had to checked and see if he did anything wrong since this wasn't supposed to happen. Looking at the surrounding, he also got to see other weird coloured blobs from the animals.

'Weird… I know that every living being has ehthernano inside of them but the amount I'm seeing inside these little birds is too much.' Breaking him out of his thought was a tugging at his hand from the curious blond.

"So? Your eyes are glowing so it must be working right?"

Apparently his eyes are glowing red too, good to know.

"Yeah. Your magic looks like a cheesecake." Smirking at the confused and pouting blond, he decided to mess with him a bit.

"What? No! My magic does not look like a cheesecake. It's lightning!"

"Nope! I'm pretty sure it's cheesecake."

"Nuh uh! It's definitely not."

What followed after that was a lengthy argument about whether or not Laxus is a cheesecake. And he has to admit, it was a pretty comical sight seeing the guild trying to figure out what they're saying.

( End FlashBack )

Fondly smiling at the memory, he turned his attention to the matter at hand. Observing the forest for any living thing, he finally spotted two. But the thing was, unless they were playing catch with each other, one of them was being chased by the other and the chaser was getting very close to them.

Wasting no time, he quickly make his way to them while maintaining a clear sight of them and seeing the one running away getting slower as time goes.

'Damn it! I'm not gonna make it in time if I keep up this pace.'

Seeing no other option, he decided to forgo running normally and started using his flames to enhanced his legs. Driving his right foot to the ground, he took off in a burst of speed towards them. To maximize his speed, he destroyed the trees in front of him to clear a straight path to them. Finally, he saw his target.

"Damn it!" Ultear cursed as the ferocious beast destroyed another tree with its giant claws and was gaining more ground on her.

After witnessing her mother's two new 'sons', she decided to wander around in this forest, thinking whether or not to go back to the experiment lab. Unfortunately, she didn't have the chance to properly think before IT shows up.

A giant ice bear with an X shaped scar on its face appeared in her line of sight. She immediately stiffen on the spot and tried to sneak away. But, with its superior senses, the ice bear managed to caught her scent and charged at her with the intent to feast.

Of course, she immediately started running and used her smaller frame to her advantage. That didn't really work out when it just aggressively tore the trees apart and removed the hindering objects.

Seeing that, she focused her magic, hoping to get an accidental burst out and tried to push the beast back with it. It did manage to push it back a few feet.

'Yes!' She mentally cheered. But that thought was instantly gone when it just shrugged it off with its magic resistant skin and got even more pissed. That cycle would continue for sometime until magic exhaustion and fatigue finally caught up with her.

Due to being so tired, her legs finally gave out and she collapsed into the snow. Desperately crawling away from it, she turned around and saw the predator standing in front of her and was raising its enormous claws up, preparing to tear her to pieces.

Realizing her impending doom was about to come, she completely gave up and closed her eyes, hoping that it would be quick. Quite bitterly, her last thoughts was of how cold she was feeling, both on the inside and outside. Until,

"Fuck off!" A loud explosion followed, including a new-found warmth in the form of a burning… boy? Standing in front of her was a boy older than her with ruffled and spiky red hair and his back turned to her.

"Hey, you alright?" Blinking twice, she was momentarily caught off guard by the casual question before shaking herself and answered.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine." The boy was about to ask her something else before an angry roar rudely interrupted him.

"ROAR!" Out of the wall of flames, the giant beast emerged with various burns on its body and it was absolutely pissed. While she couldn't believe with her own eyes how it could have survived that inferno blast despite its resilience to magic, her saviour just grunted in annoyance.

"Tch! You won't just stay down eh? How about this?!" Raising his palm up, she was understandably confused at the action as well as worried when the raging beast continued to charged forward. Her question was quickly answered in the form of a massive jet of bright red flames expelling from his hand and onto the monster.

She couldn't take her eyes off of the beautiful fiery scene in front of her. A sea of ethereal like flames engulfed its surroundings, turning everything to ashes. No, the ashes weren't even spared from the incoming waves! Everything was completely burnt to nothingness, including the ice bear itself. When he was done, the flames instantly went out and in front of him was an empty plot of land with no signs of anything else.

Satisfied with the outcome, he turned around to greet the girl.

"Yo! The name's Zane. Yours?"

The dark purple hair girl didn't react and kept staring at him like she was in a trance or something. Sighing tiredly at the girls unresponsive form, he had to snapped his fingers a few times to get her attention.

"Oi! You there?"

"O-Oh, yes! My name's U-Ultear." The girl, now known as Ultear, finally replied back. Holding a hand out, he gave her a small smirk and said.

"Well Ultear, how about you stand up first? It's kinda cold down there, don't you think so?"

Brown eyes meeting amber's, the two gaze into each other. After a few seconds, she hesitantly reached out and grasped his hand.

"Thank you."

What Ultear didn't know, was that after accepting his help, a new door in life was open for her and he, was the key.


	5. Ultear

"Hah!" Ultear yelled out as she crushed the moving ice construct with her own ice blast, turning it into a pile of shards.

Swiping the sweat forming on her forehead, she was breathing heavily due to the amount of magic she needed to put into her spells to actually destroy these damn things and the fact that she still doesn't have good enough control over it.

"You need to pay more attention Tear." A voice sounded behind her as a fire ball was flung to her right side, hitting an ice wolf that was sneaking up to her. Looking back after checking that nothing else is hiding, she turned to her saviour with a pout on her face.

"I know. But these guys are everywhere and my magic isn't suitable for this."

"Sigh, just get behind me. I'll lead the way while you recover then." Skipping happily to him, she latched onto his arm causing him to roll his eyes at her clingy habit while she just made herself comfortable with her new pillow. Say what you want about her but this is the warmest thing she'll ever find and it's not because she's cold, well, not on the outside at least.

Enjoying the warmth radiating from his body and the beauty of his flames as they continue to melt the incoming ice monsters while they explore this mysterious ice cave, Ultear took a moment to think about the last two weeks that led to this.

When Zane first save her, she was a bit suspicious of his convenient timing but that slowly disappeared as she watched as he helped her get out of the forest and to the nearest town after learning that she was all alone.

In that period of time, she tried to stay quiet to not reveal anything about her past. Turns out, that wasn't necessary when he just made some small comments about her well being and what she intended to do now. Seeing that he doesn't want pry about her past, she replied back and the two had some conversations and got to know each other better.

On the first night, a small fire was made to keep them ( her ) warm and to ward off any pesky animals. While it did a good enough job as a light source, it didn't really help with how much she was shivering. She then looked at Zane, seeing him sleeping against a tree, and remembered how warm his hand was. She decided to take a risk and cautiously made her way over to him.

Standing right next to him, she bit her lower lip and carefully put a hand on his arm.

'So warm.' She thought as she watched his reaction. Nothing.

Carefully, she laid down next to him while clutching his right arm before the desire to sleep took over. Unknown to her, he was already awake the moment she stood up from her spot and has been watching her actions.

'How... Cute.' With that last thought, he went back to sleep until he was waken up by the squirming form of the little girl. Brows furrowed and sweat running down her disturbed face, he realized that she was in a nightmare.

"Mom… Why did you abandoned me?… Do you hate me that much..." Those whispered words told him all he needed to know about her pain. She was betrayed, like him. Eyes softening at the girl, he did what he could to comfort the poor girl. He hugged her with both arms. His wish was granted when she stopped talking and her face returned to its peaceful one.

He stared at her for a while before raising his head to gazed at the stars and let out a tired sigh.

That trend repeated itself for a few days before he finally confronted her on the fifth day.

"Ultear. Did something happen to you?"

Stiffening on the spot, she was surprised at the unexpected question before that surprised quickly turned into hesitation and doubt.

Her reaction, while quite understandable, was the one he dreaded the most. Not wanting to cause the girl anymore discomfort, he tried to end it.

"Sigh, never mind. Sorry for-"

"It's-it's alright! It's fine for you to ask that." She cut in before he could say anything.

So, he waited for her to think about the matter before raising her head to face him and took a deep breath.

"I-I know that you're curious about my past and why I'm out here by myself in the first place. And you deserve to know since you did save me from death and all. But, before I tell you, can you promise me something first?" Seeing nothing wrong with that, he motioned for her to proceed with her wish.

"Ca-can you not l-leave me after I tell you?" Almost shouting at the end, she stated her intention in a shaky voice and her eyes closed. After a moment of silence, she was afraid that he was going to refuse it but that was all for nothing when she was pulled into his hard chest and a pair of comforting hands circled around her.

"You don't have to worry about that. I promise."

So, she told him. She told him of her happy times with her mom, of how she threw her away and her time at the lab where the people there experimented on her before she escaped from that hell. When she thought she was going to meet her mom again, she was brutally slap in the face by reality when the sight of her mom's two new 'sons' was shown to her. At the end of the story, she was practically sobbing at that point and couldn't stop the tears streaming down her face.

Looking up, her eyes meeting his, she expected to see pity or something negative in his eyes. Instead, she was shocked to see a very familiar look. Understanding, he understood what she went through because he too, had been in the same situation. The two gazed into each other as no words were needed to share their own pain and feeling.

After what felt like an eternity, Zane asked the question on his mind.

"So, will you follow me or…?" Giving him a sincere smile, she replied.

"Please take care of me, Zane." A chuckled and a ruffled to head was what she got for her sincerity.

"Hehe, me too Ultear."

Since then, she has gotten close to him and would hug him whenever she has a chance. But then, a glaring issue pop up. She had to get stronger if she doesn't want to be a burden to him since he has been the one protecting her the whole time. When she brought up the matter, he thought about it and asked her if she knows what kind of magic she's good at or knows how to use. She hesitated at the question.

"I know I'm good at… i-ice magic."

"Ah. It reminds you of her, right?" At her shameful nod, he just put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Tear, it doesn't matter. There have been countless of wizards who used it, she's not the first and she won't be the last damn one. Instead of thinking about it, try to think of how much better you'll be. It's your magic and it's your own choice. Got that?"

He's right. She has been letting her mom's shadow control her life until this point. Now, she'll decide how her magic will be and she'll get stronger for her sake and... his.

The glint of determination in her eyes told him of her choice. So, the only logical thing to do now is to help her, right?

"Alright, I might not know much about ice stuff but I know how to start it. What you'll do with it depends on you, ok?"

"Right!"

And so, he taught her how to sense her magic and how to call upon it. He told her that the basic way to use a spell is to first sense her own magic reserves inside of her. That part was easy since her body has an abominably high amount of magic power and that was why they were so interested in 'testing' her.

The second part was to visualize the spell itself, how it will come to life to be exact. His advice was to start with something small and simple since you had to maintain the image for the whole time. With that in mind, she pictured a small needle. And the final step was to will it. At this, she had a confused look so he elaborated.

"Now, what I meant by willing it has two points. One, what you want to happen. Let's say I'm about to use a fireball spell, I'll want a fireball to appear and be launched towards a direction. That's the gist of it really, of course there are some exceptions to it like the stuff you want to happen doesn't do what it's meant to due to your concentration or your reserves not high enough…ect. And second is why you use it. The purpose of your spells basically." Ending his little lecture, he was greeted with a hand raised from his student.

"Yes, Ms Tear?" She giggled at that.

"Uhm Mr Zane, what do you think everytime you use your magic?"

"Hmm, usually, I want to burn 'em since they pissed me off. Oh, and I also want to hurt them, that's all." Through out the whole time, a mad glint slowly but surely appeared in his eyes along with a cruel smirk, he looked like the persona of wrath if anything. Ultear shuddered at the intense look he was making.

'I didn't think this was the real him. No matter, I'll just get used to it eventually.' She eventually did, but not in the way she thought...

A loud clapped brought her out of her thought.

"Now that's out of the way, how about you try it yourself."

Nodding at his words, she sat down and got into a comfortable position before concentrating.

'Okay, I have my reserves here. And there's the... needle. And the last step is to WILL IT!'

"BOOM!!"

( From Zane's perspective )

'Hmm… this usually is a milestone for most people from what I've seen. Though, that doesn't seem to apply to me and hopefully her too.' And he was right when a blue glow started to appear before her. But...

'Why is it getting bigger? Didn't she say that it was a needle and what is with this- Oh shit!' Acting quickly, he ran in front of her and cover her body with his while throwing up a flame wall to protect them. From what exactly? Well, from the gigantic ice spear that is getting bigger and colder by the second before it

"BOOM!!" exploded into thousands of small needles. Just from the explosion itself, the surroundings was destroyed while the sharp small spears went flying like they were actual bullets.

'If this was a crowded area, I'm pretty sure it would be a massacre.'

"Did I do… it, Zane?" Slowly opening her eyes, she got her answer. Flicking her forehead, he deadpanned at the clueless girl.

"That was some needle huh?" She blushed at the sarcastic comment and the position they were in.

"Y-yeah, sorry about that. I didn't know I was able to do... well this." Despite the sarcasm, he was quite pleased with her potential, his small smirk being the evidence. Standing up with the girl in his arms, he whistled in appreciation of the destruction of the forest.

"Well, that was impressive for starters. We have a lot to work with, huh?" Pleased with his praise, she excitedly agreed.

"Mm!"

And two weeks of traveling later, they stumbled upon this ancient looking cave with these weird ice constructs that suddenly attacked them. Their shapes ranged from animals to weird moving armours, all possessed sharp ice bodies and weapons, while some were capable of using ranged attacks. She of course used this as a testing ground for her training while Zane watched. At first, they were pretty easy to fight against since a lot of them had mechanical like movements that made it so predictable. As the fights go on, she discovered that using just blunt force or raw ice blast is much more effective in clearing them.

But she soon got tired from the never ending cycle of enemies and ambushes from them so she just let Zane took over while she rested.

After what seemed like the hundredth time, the next wave of monsters were annihilated and the end of the cave was revealed.

"Woah. This is definitely not what I expected." She exclaimed while he nodded in agreement. It was a giant room that has smooth mirror like glass for walls and ceiling, no doubt from the same ice the monsters were made of. In the middle of it, a pedestal with beautiful carvings and an orb of bright ice with a rusty sword stabbed into it. The surprising thing was, both the orb and the sword radiated two different types of aura.

Slowly, the both made their way to the objects before a blue wisp flew out of the orb and floated in front of them.

"Calm down children, you have no reason to be that cautious." The soothing voice of a female came out of the glowing ball.

"Yeah… how about no." Taking a step back to protect Ultear and hands out with the intention of fighting, he narrowed his eyes at the suspicious thing.

"Sigh, I suppose I can't blame you for being careful. If that's the case, I will stay in place and tell you my identity then, is that alright with you?" Seeing no reply, 'she' continued.

"My name is Anivia, the queen of the Ice Phoenix, my race has been sadly extinct for thousands of years while I was its last remaining member before I too, met the same fate at the hands of a swordsman. In my last moments, I used an ancient technique to seal my soul and my killer in an ice prison. Forever trapping the both of us." Anivia stopped, letting the two to think about her story before the red haired boy calmly said.

"While I appreciate the sad story, what does that have to do with now?" Amused by his skepticism, she answered his queries.

"Like I said, although being trapped in my own prison has slowed down the time my soul age, I am not immuned to the effects of time and I'm close to my end. Despite that, I still wished for the glory of my race to live on, a legacy you could say. So, I have waited for a suitable candidate to come and inherit my power. To become the first ever Phoenix Slayer. And now, a worthy successor has come. More specifically, the girl behind you."

Ultear griped his shirt even tighter at that statement while he just raised a brow.

"Oh? That sounds nice and all but what's the catch?"

"There's no catch, child. I know that it is weird for people to give out power so freely, suspicious even. But please, this is my race last wish."

The whole situation just seems ridiculous to him but that last part was so... desperate. Like she said, this is a whole race last wish and he'll be a really asshole if he outright ignore them. But that depends on whether or not she's telling the truth. In the end, he went with what his heart said.

"Okay, I'll be the judge of your sincerity. Come over here and touch my fire." Raising his hands and opening them so his palms were facing her, pink fire came out of them and formed a wall in front of him. Tilting his head, he continued in a serious tone.

"If you're being truthful then you won't feel a thing. But… if you're lying then this won't be pretty for you."

She didn't moved from her place, making him tensed up at the possibility of her actually lying and was thinking of attacking them. But, no, she was just shocked at the power he summoned.

"Soul flames? No wonder you're so confident child. Very well, this turns out to be much quicker than I thought." Floating over to it, she made direct contact to it and he immediately got a wave of emotions.

Sincerity, honesty and sadness. That was what his own fire told him and he trusted it.

Pulling it back, he wanted to get more information from her about this new 'Slayer' type.

"Tell me something about this new... Slayer magic. I have heard of other Slayer like God, Dragon and Devil Slayer in my time. But this is a new one to me. So, what does it really do?"

"I'm glad you asked. Well, like any other Slayer, she will have the ability to eat her own element, which is ice, to gain a boost in power and heal at the same time. Unlike them, this will grant her absolute control over her powers and a lot more unique abilities you will see from her." He had an odd feeling that she was smiling at him the whole time.

Moving over to her new successor, she gently said.

"Don't worry child, this won't hurt a bit. I'll do all the work and the methods of using it along with anything else will be slowly unlocked as you progress in your power."

She still didn't want to trust her it seems since all the young one did was to hold onto him without any intentions of letting go or talk to her. Sighing softly, she turned to the only person who could help her.

That person, of course being Zane, rolled his eyes at her before turning around and crouched down to eye level. Smiling at Ultear and placing a hand on her right cheek, rubbing it a bit. He said.

"Well, she isn't lying or anything like that. And the giant blue ball" here, he glanced back

"wants our help, yours. So, why don't you help her out, alright? And if anything happens, I'm right here. You ok with that?"

Ultear just nodded absentmindedly, too immersed in his gentle touch and comforting words. Eventually, she managed to tore herself from him and prepared for the next event.

"Thank you, my child. I hope my powers will help you in your endeavors. Good bye." and with those last words, she disappeared into her body. The process took a few minutes but once she was done.

A powerful chilling aura enveloped her and it spread to the surrounding, making the room cold enough to freeze a person into an ice statue. And then, two mesmerizing wings sprouted from her back, making her look like an angel more than anything.

'This cold… I haven't met anything that was capable of even cooling me. But this...' Zane thought in amazement at the things she will be doing in a few years and at the prospect of having someone other than Laxus or Gildart to spar. When he was sure that she was indeed alright, he locked onto his next target.

"Now, I wonder what this sword will do? Let's find out shall we?" Speaking to himself, he looked at the worn out thing and placed his hand on it to grip it.

As he was doing that, Ultear has returned to her normal state and saw what he was trying to do.

"Zane! Don't touch it. Anivia told me that the sword has a-" Her desperate cries were too late as he was

"Cracked!" unceremoniously flipped onto his back and got slammed into the ground, cracking it.

"… temper."

Silence descended upon the room.

"Guess that was a bit late, hehe?" Ultear nervously said.


	6. Why

Staring at the ceiling and feeling the cold cracked ground underneath him, Zane tried to remember the times where he was humiliated but couldn't find one that was anywhere near this level. Getting manhandled by a sword takes the cake definitely.

"Uhm… Zane? You alright there?"

"No." No, he was definitely not.

His pride has been wounded by this piece of shit. And he had a score to settled with it.

"Tear."

"Yes?" Getting her attention, he told her to get out and stay at the entrance of the cave. When he was asked why.

"I'm pissed and this won't be pretty for you." She had no doubt about that if his expression was anything to go by.

Once she was out, he stood up and dusted his clothes.

"You know…" His features hardened as a wide smile was slowly coming out and his eyes slightly narrowed.

"… You just signed your own death sentence." A wave of immense power erupted from his body in the form of a glowing red firestorm. The firestorm was akin to a wall of destruction as it grows and melts the ice surrounding him.

His declaration was met when the sword itself floated up and hummed in agreement. A similar aura also came out of the blade and covered itself till it resembles a tiger with a scorpion tail. Instead of the pinkish red color his flames were, it had a dark purple glow to it and the nature of it was pure demonic.

If anyone was here, they would have long passed out from the suffocating pressure the two were emitting. The aura of a king and a demonic beast continued to grow before the two abruptly stopped at the same time.

"Ughhhhra!" "Whoosh!" With a mighty roar from both sides, they both charged forward.

( With Ultear )

Nervously fidgeting on the spot, she couldn't help but be worried about Zane. Seeing him being… slammed like that was pretty scary for her and she almost fainted at the possibility of him being hurt because of her lateness. Thankfully, he didn't seem to be affected by it at all.

Well, not entirely affected would be correct since he was angry. Like really angry! She had no doubt that violence would be evident in there.

"BOOM!" And her doubts were confirmed when a loud explosion occurred and shook the entire cave, making her flinched at the sound itself. The cycle of explosions will repeat itself every few minutes until the sixth and last one.

"BOOM!!" Correction, this is the last one, she dryly thought. She waited for him to come out and soon, she war rewarded with the sound of footsteps from inside the cave. Catching sight of the familiar mop of red hair caused her to cheerfully call out.

"Zane!" But as fast as her cheerfulness came, it was replaced with worry when she saw his entire appearance.

Ruffled hair, disheveled clothes with multiple tears on them and a few deep cuts on his body, Zane definitely did not go uninjured like she hoped and that filled her with unbridled sadness.

Slowly walking up to him and maintaining a clear sight of him, she tugged on his shirt or what's left of it to get his attention since he was currently staring off into the distance with a dazed look.

He was indeed dazed when her touch managed to wake him up and for him to finally noticed her. Staring unblinking into his eyes, she poured all her feelings into her gaze to make her emotions known to him.

'How are you? Are you fine?' was the unvoiced question from her.

Receiving a small comforting smile from him, a sign that says yes, he understood her, he said.

"I'm standing here, aren't I?" With those words, she leapt into him and embraced him with all her might. The two then shared a moment of peace while holding each other. Unknown to Ultear, a few tear drops were starting to form in her eyes and were falling down directly into his wounds, causing it to physically burn up.

Noticing what was happening and hearing his pained grunt, she quickly tore herself away from him. Well, tried to, since he kept a firm grip on her to prevent her from getting away.

"Zane, let go! I'm hurting you-"

"Look closer Tear. I don't think that's how you hurt someone." Taking a second look like he asked to, she was pleasantly surprised to see that the wounds were starting to heal themselves at a miraculous rate and after a few seconds, they were gone.

"My tears… they can heal you! Come on, let's heal the other spots Zane." She excitedly said. Raising her hand to gather the tears on her eyes, she was stopped by Zane, who put a hand on her cheek to rub it.

"Tear… Promise me that you won't do this often, ok?" He gently said, still rubbing her cheek.

"But I can help people with them Zane. Why wouldn't i-"

"I don't like seeing you cry." He cut her off with in much more quieter voice, making her understand why he was saying this.

He didn't want her to cry. He cared for her in his own selfish way. And you know what, she was genuinely happy with that.

Her whole hearted smile being the proof.

Several hours later, they made their way out of the forest and to the nearest town they could find. Reason? Well, Zane's clothes are barely hanging on and if he doesn't want to be a stripper then he'll need to change soon. And he might as well find a sheath for his new weapon.

Inside of the room they had just booked.

"Hmm, Onslaught, the blade of wrath? That's a cool name I guess." Ultear said as she marveled at the weapon in her hand. A long nodachi with a black and red handle. The blade itself has a simple design but despite that, she couldn't help but see it as a work of art even with her limited knowledge of weapons. Oh, and the fact that the blade is constantly radiating power might contribute to that.

Throwing his torn up shirt to the ground, Zane picked up the bag of new clothes which consists of a high-collared black vest, a long-sleeved brown sweater that he's going wear under the vest and black jeans. While he would have like to wear something much simpler like before, the old lady who was the seller wouldn't sell him anything that wasn't 'appropriate' for this kind of weather. Since he was too lazy to go to another shop, he begrudgingly chose some warmer clothes. That woman was too smug about her victory though.

"Hey, it took me at least half an hour to come up with that name. Damn things picky about it." He grumbled, putting on the sweater. Onslaught hummed, disagreeing with him.

"What kind of name did you come up with then?" Ultear curiously asked.

"Anger Issues. That was a good one." Sweat dropping at the name, she understood why the blade was so indignant about and felt sorry for it.

"There, there, I won't let that happen again." It vibrated in response like it was happy with her statement making her giggle at the movement.

"What's that supposed to-" "Kyaaaa!!!"

"What?! What happened?" Still caught off guard by her scream, Zane frantically looked around to see the cause of it. After he carefully observed the room for any suspicious thing and not finding anything, he then asked her what the hell she was screaming for.

"Z-Zane, your p-pants!" With a blushing face, she shouted in embarrassment as her eyes were tightly shut.

"What about them?" He asked with a puzzled look.

"You're c-changing in front of me." Rolling his eyes at what she meant, he took cover behind a closet door to put his jeans on.

"I thought you were fine with me changing there since you didn't say anything when I was taking off my shirt. And besides, aren't you a bit young to worry about these things?" She cutely pouted at him for that remark. "I'm still a girl Zane. While I'm fine seeing you shirtless, I'm not ready to see you in just your underwear yet."

'And besides, I kinda like seeing you shirtless.' That particular thought will never leave her mouth until much later though.

Done with changing, he hopped on to his bed and laid sprawled on it. Soon, Ultear joined him, taking her spot next to him. Not really questioning why she didn't rest on her own bed, Zane enjoyed her presence and the comfortable feeling the fluffy bed provided.

'Sleep. At last.'

"BOOM!!!" "RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! ITS COMING!" A large explosion accompanied by the screams of people and buildings crashing down could be heard across the town.

Slowly opening his eyes and with an unreadable expression, he let out a suffering sigh.

"God... Why do you hate me so much?"

Ultear just looked confused at his question, not knowing what to say about this.


End file.
